The health insurance giant has joined a coalition of corporations that aim to collectively hire 100,000 military service members and veterans within the next eight years

Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group, Inc, said Tuesday that it has joined a coalition of major US corporations that aim to collectively hire 100,000 transitioning military service members and veterans by 2020

The company's announcement comes about a week after Governor Mark Dayton signed legislation that allows employers in the private sector to set a hiring preference for veterans and some of their spouses

UnitedHealth said that as part of its commitment to the coalition, dubbed the 100,000 Jobs Mission, it will actively recruit service members and veterans through targeted outreach and hiring and recruitment events

"Our nation's veterans have many characteristics highly valued by UnitedHealth Group They are motivated and highly skilled individuals with a strong work ethic," Rich Hughes, senior vice president of talent acquisition, development, and mobility, said in a statement "The 100,000 Jobs Mission gives us another channel to recruit talented employees, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support our military veterans who have bravely served our country"

To date, 41 corporations have joined the 100,000 Jobs Mission, and they've collectively hired more than 12,100 veterans The only other Minnesota-based company in the coalition is Minneapolis-based Target Corporation

The legislation recently signed by Dayton allows employers in the private sector to express a hiring preference for all veterans and for the spouses of veterans who have died or who have a service-related disability The bill passed both the Senate and the House with unanimous support

A UnitedHealth Group representative couldn't be reached Tuesday morning to provide additional information about the company's specific hiring goals related to the 100,000 Jobs Mission

UnitedHealth said that its participation in the coalition is one of several ways that it supports veterans and their families It already partners with the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, RecruitMilitary, and the Wounded Warrior Project, which provide career and other resources for military members and/or their spouses Additionally, its UnitedHealthcare subsidiary is the presenting sponsor of Ride 2 Recovery-which supports physical and psychological rehabilitation programs for injured veterans and features cycling as the core activity

Roughly 2,700 troops are expected to return to Minnesota in the coming weeks, and about 20 percent of them will be looking for jobs upon their return, according to a recent report by the Pioneer Press, which cited data from the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs and the Minnesota National Guard

Posted: 2018-03-16 08:45 AM ST. PAUL, Minn. - Col. Angela Steward-Randle grew up in a military family - her father served in the Army on active duty - but it was a chance encounter with a friend at college that led her to want to make the military a career.

"My story is no different than many others," Steward-Randle, the Director of Human Resources, Manpower and Personnel for the Minnesota National Guard said. "I was in college and looking for financial resources to help pay for it."

Her college friend suggested they attend a summer training with the Reserve Officer Training Corps that had no obligation and could earn them some money. The friend never ended up going, but Steward-Randle did. After earning recognition as the top honor graduate and receiving an offer of a scholarship, she was hooked.

Posted: 2018-03-09 03:13 PM WOODBURY, Minn. - Staff Sgt. Benjamin Kroll, an analyst with the Minnesota National Guard's Counterdrug Task Force who is assigned to work with the Hennepin County Sherriff's Office was recognized for his achievements as the Analyst of the Year during the 2018 Minnesota Association of Crime and Intelligence Analysts Training Symposium in Woodbury, Minnesota, March 7, 2018.

Through a partnership with Minnesota law enforcement agencies throughout the state, the Minnesota National Guard Counterdrug Task Force (MNCDTF) supports the anti-drug initiatives to counter all primary drug threats and vulnerabilities through the effective application of available assets, said Maj. Jon Dotterer, Counterdrug Coordinator for the State of Minnesota. The goal for the program is to support federal, state, tribal, and local agencies in the detection, disruption, interdiction, and curtailment of illicit drugs.

Kroll is one of sixteen service members on the Counterdrug Task Force that provides this force-multiplying service to our communities against illicit drug-use. With the information that law enforcement provide through their patrols and daily operations, Kroll and his colleagues across the state assist by putting together a figurative picture with all of the gathered information which aids in identifying how to move forward with legal action to deter or prevent the sale or use of illegal narcotic drugs.

Posted: 2018-03-08 09:05 AM ST. PAUL, Minn. - "The battlefront is no place for women to be," said Command Sgt. Maj. Earl Kurtzweg, 125th Field Artillery, in an article published in 1976. "There are certain jobs girls say they can do, but they just can't do ... the battlefront is no place for women to be. Other countries in the world use women in combat, but the U.S. has not come around to that way of thinking." Kathy Berg, a New Ulm reporter summarized at the time. "So women in the New Ulm unit take care of personnel files and pay records and leave the fighting to the men."

The Minnesota National Guard has "come around to that way of thinking" since those early days of gender integration. In the last 44 years women have made momentous strides toward inclusion and acceptance. Their accomplishments are testimony to their fortitude and the progressive development of the Minnesota National Guard.

When an accomplished female Soldier is credited with breaking barriers she will often pass that honor to the women that preceded her. Brig. Gen. Johanna Clyborne is such a leader. She acknowledges that she is one of the first females in the Minnesota National Guard who has held key leadership roles, however she sees it differently. "I feel responsible for all women in uniform," said Clyborne. "Women before me opened the door, now I've cleared the room. It's up to the women behind me to hold the room."

"This is what we do," said Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard. "When the local community can't meet the public safety needs, they come to the Guard. We're their normal partner, we're a natural partner, and we're their preferred partner when it comes to filling in the gaps that they can't fill."

At the request of the city, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton authorized the Minnesota National Guard to provide support to security efforts leading up to and during Super Bowl 52. The Guardsmen are providing direct support to and working alongside law enforcement officers from across the state. Like their civilian law enforcement partners, Minnesota Guardsmen are focused on ensuring a safe experience for the residents and visitors who are attending the Super Bowl festivities.